Cherryvale, PA, 7 years earlier:
For the hundredth time in less than a day, Lindsay laughed so hard tears spilled from her eyes.
"?and then, my lovely lady, we will have strawberry crepes, strawberry shortcake, strawberry pancakes, strawberry cream pie, strawberry jello, strawberry hash, strawberry alfredo, strawberry pilaf?"
"Oh, Colin!" Lindsay held her sides. "Is your real name Forrest Gump?"
Colin took a bow and replied seriously, ?You may call me Bubba, ma'am."
His exaggerated Southern accent and deadpan expression sent Lindsay reaching for the tissues again. Scanning the kitchen counter, which was covered with bin after bin of the fresh strawberries they had just finished rinsing, she noted wryly, "I guess we kinda overdid it in the u-pick fields today, didn?t we?"
"We'll put them to good use." With a mischievous gleam in his eyes, he quickly popped two lush strawberries, complete with stems, into his mouth, almost daring Lindsay to comment.
Lindsay shook her head and smiled. "Hmmm, you know? When the kids were little, we'd take them to pick fruit. This one time, Will was covered in strawberry from head to toe. What a mess! We tried to stop him, but he'd pick and eat, pick and eat, and he had no more than two strawberries in his bucket." Her eyes danced with the memory. "Jenny was the opposite. She was so tiny, but she was determined that she was going to take home every single berry there. Her bucket was overflowing and weighed more than she did! It was too funny! Sam tried to pick up both kids at the same time, and they wound up falling and rolling around on the ground. Then they grabbed me and we were all covered in dirt and fruit, but we couldn't stop laughing. And --" Lindsay's voice caught in her throat and she looked away, lost in thought.
Colin covered her hand with his own and smiled encouragingly. "Hey there. Sounds like the Rappaport family had a wild side."
Lindsay nodded. "We had some good times... Gosh, those look delicious. Let me try one." Selecting one of the larger strawberries, she took a bite and the juice squirted onto her lips and fingers. She flushed self-consciously and reached for a napkin, but Colin stopped her.
"Let me help." Lindsay felt her heart nearly stop as Colin gently lowered his mouth and kissed away the juices from her lips and suckled her fingers one by one. "Mmmm, sweet."
Lindsay stared up at him. "Colin --" The phone rang.
"Hold that thought." He turned away and grabbed the phone at the other end of the kitchen. "Lanie, sweetheart. It's so good to hear your voice..."
Her heart furiously beating again, Lindsay fled for the sanctuary of the front parlor. What was she doing? She shouldn?t be feeling this attracted to her sister's new husband. It wasn't right. She could make out Colin?s voice booming from the kitchen -- "we?ll try to survive the next two weeks. Yes. YES. I mean it ? don't worry about a thing..."
If anything, Colin had turned out to be more than just a brother-in-law but a valued friend. Talking to her, keeping her in stitches and lending a sympathetic ear. Lindsay couldn't remember the last time anyone had been so kind to her. Pensive, she reached up and touched her lips, gingerly tracing where his mouth had closed and lingered over hers. Oh, he was just teasing you, girlie, she told herself. If anything, Colin loved to be a ham and probably thought it would be funny to unsettle her like that.
"I know. Me, too... Dr. Wilkins made the right choice. My love, there?s a call coming in on the other line..I'll talk to you tomorrow..."
Lindsay looked up when Colin poked his head into the room, "Linds, there?s a Stephen Connelly of Connelly, Parker and Associates on the phone for you."
Colin walked over to the bay window to give her some privacy but looked back to see the color drain from his sister-in-law?s face as she breathlessly spoke into the cordless receiver, "I don't understand. I knew he was pushing it, but how did it go through so quickly? You said? Oh. Yes, I see? Well, thank you for calling and letting me know, Stephen."
Lindsay clicked off the phone and, stumbling through quickly blinding tears, placed it on the mahogany coffee table. Ripping the gold band from her ring finger and ignoring the pain the action caused, she threw it across the room. The hurt and loss overwhelming her, Lindsay collapsed to the floor, any pretense of keeping up a strong front shattered as her world came falling down around her. "SAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM!? She buried her head in arms, her muffled, heart wrenching sobs echoing through the room. "NOOOOOO!"
Chapter 7
